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December 2005 Newsletter Good BooksComing To Our Senses Last winter I attended a class on Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction based on the program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn and introduced in his earlier book Full Catastrophe Living. I loved the class and was excited to have his new book to look forward to once the class ended. Now that I'm reading Coming to Our Senses it feels as though it will be a work in progress. There are 609 pages and I'm moving through them slowly and randomly. Not only is there a lot to read, there is a lot to consider, distill and absorb. I find myself reading a chapter and then setting the book aside for awhile, or sometimes just reading one chapter several times. Coming to Our Senses is organized into eight parts, beginning with Meditation: It's Not What You Think and ending with Let The Beauty We Love Be What We Do. There are chapters with intriguing titles: Original Moments, Filling Up All Our Moments and Dying Before You Die, but there are others I'll be tempted to skip. So far, Kabat-Zinn consistently offers thoughtful stories, clearly articulated insights, information about the body/mind connection and gentle instruction in mindfulness—all with a genuine heart for opening readers to the tremendous possibilities for healing ourselves and our world. What I'm valuing most about reading the book is the opportunity to stop and to be in the company of a gifted teacher who demonstrates compassionate acceptance of what is, over and over and over again—a teacher who models beginning, over and over and over again. "To be present is far from trivial. It may be the hardest work in the world. And forget about the "may be." It is the hardest work in the world—at least to sustain presence. And the most important." -Jon Kabat-Zinn The Unmistakable Touch Of Grace Cheryl Richardson, professional life coach, is the author of Take Time for Your Life, Life Makeovers, and Stand Up for Your Life. Unlike her earlier bestsellers, The Unmistakable Touch of Grace is a more personal book in which Richardson shares her spiritual journey. Her own stories detailing encounters with Divine grace are intertwined with stories from the lives of friends and clients with whom she has worked. Instead of focusing on how to begin living a life touched by grace, Richardson takes a different approach—recognizing the grace that has been and already is in our lives. In the Introduction she offers readers a helpful statement to use with experiments in recognizing grace: "I am open and receptive to the power of grace in my life now. I ask to be shown clear examples of how this energy is operating in my life." I used these words myself as I read the book and found them amazingly helpful. Richardson suggests starting a "grace journal." Each chapter ends with an experiment "designed to help you recognize and use the power of grace in your own life." Most of these include a series of questions to be explored in the journal. Excellent resources for further exploration are listed after each experiment: mainly books and websites with a few magazines. "The answers I was searching for were in the silence. In the past, meditation meant quieting my mind long enough to hear my intuition or inner wisdom. Now I was beginning to understand something more important—the answer was the silence itself." -Cheryl Richardson Compass Of The Soul Compass Of The Soul consists of fifty-two chapters or lessons intended to help readers recognize intuition, the wisdom within, and use its messages as a trusted guide in all areas of life. In each brief chapter Robinson offers accessible ideas that speak to the heart and what it longs for. Her message is consistent: Listen for your intuition. Learn to recognize how it communicates with you. Allow your intuition to reveal to you what you need to know. Every chapter opens with an inspirational quote related to the lesson. Each lesson is followed by an exercise designed to develop intuition and a section for journal exploration that includes well thought out questions. The book lends itself to a yearlong study, working with one chapter each week, either in a group or on your own. Without a table of contents, it also invites browsing to find a chapter title that grabs your attention now. If you find Robinson's approach helpful, you'll want to look for two of her other books: Divine Intuition and Real Prosperity. "Living an intuitive life is much more than simply paying attention to your intuition. It includes looking within for the answers, living life with courage, faith, patience, and trust. It also involves connecting with your Spirit through daily practice and taking action on the wisdom you receive." -Lynn A. Robinson The Best Year of Your Life If this past year wasn't the best year of your life, or if you've never had a best year of your life, or if you want next year (and every year after that) to be the best, Debbie Ford wrote this book for you. The Best Year of Your Life goes beyond predictable, superficial advice on how to make dreams come true. As the subtitle implies, Ford does what may self-help books do: she guides readers through the process of dreaming, planning and acting. Here's where her work diverges; she exposes the common tendency to choose the easy way out, a way that keeps us stuck in "habitual patterns and behaviors that offer us no rewards—the thoughts, habits, excuses and behaviors that keep us from living our best lives." Ford focuses on our use of excuses, negative internal dialogue, blame, righteous positions and self-defeating behaviors. She offers examples to help readers recognize these patterns in their own lives, as well as ways to develop and choose workable alternatives to move past these obstacles with intent and integrity. "Most of us have put some kind of limitations on what we can and cannot have, what we can and cannot do, and who we can and cannot be...instead of joyfully going about the task of making the lives we are living great, we daydream about the life we wish we were living." "When there are no excuses, there will be only one path for you to take: the path to the best year of your life." -Debbie Ford Health Journeys This is a resource, not a book, for superb Guided Imagery CDs by Belleruth Naparstek. Dozens of titles are available: relaxation, healing, stress, depression, surgery, recovery, sleep, well-being... Most of the CDs include simple instructions, followed by guided imagery and affirmations. Naparstek's distinctive voice combined with calming background music helps to release powerful, healing energies. Prices for individual CDs are about $18.00. |
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phone: 651-644-7766 • mail@LaurieMattila.com • www.LaurieMattila.com Bless the time spent here… seeking listening dreaming.
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